Emotions - Papers

Howard Sklar, PhD

Department of English

University of Helsinki

Fiction and the Emotions

HUOM!: For both papers, please follow the formatting guidelines provided on the English Department website:

http://www.eng.helsinki.fi/opiskelijalle/esseet-ja-tutkielmat/ohjeita-kirjoittajalle.html

The guidelines show you how to use the MLA and Harvard styles for formatting your papers. You may use either of these styles.

Paper #1: Philosophical Views of Fiction and Emotions

Due: 23 October

Length: 4-5 pages (1.5-spaced)

For this paper, you will analyze one of the articles that are on the syllabus or the supplementary reading list for sessions 2, 3, 4 or 5. I would like you to take a clear position on the view that is expressed in the article. I welcome a variety of viewpoints and approaches, but your analysis must be based, largely, on a close reading of the text. In other words, give clear examples from the text and then give detailed reasons why the position expressed by the author is convincing, unconvincing, or only partly convincing. You may refer to other articles in defending your position.

Paper #2: Analysis of the Emotional Content of a Fictional Narrative

Due: 20 November

Length: 4-5 pages (1.5-spaced)

For this paper, you will analyze in terms of its emotional content or its hypothetical emotional effects of readers a story of your own choosing. You may use one of the stories we will read for class, or one of several other stories that will be available in a separate folder (“Stories for Paper #2”) in my pigeonholes. How does the story lead readers to feel in particular ways? What is the nature of the emotions that the story produces, and how are these similar to, or different from, ordinary emotions? What types of emotions are represented in the story? What do the characters feel, and how are these represented?

Although I am mostly interested in your own analysis of the story, I encourage you to apply one of the theoretical articles on fiction and emotions in developing your approach to analyzing the story. Again, I welcome a variety of viewpoints and approaches, but your analysis must be based, largely, on a close reading of the fictional text. In other words, give clear examples from the text to defend your point of view.

Here are the stories that you may use for this paper:

“White Tigers” by Maxine Hong Kingston

“The Five Orange Pips” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

“What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” by Raymond Carver

“Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin

“Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan

Amos and Boris by William Steig

“The Hammer Man” by Toni Cade Bambara

“Eveline” by James Joyce

“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

Journals

Due: Most weeks (see syllabus for topics, which will be explained in class)

Length: Up to you! You may write as much or as little as you like.

Submission: Please submit your journal entries on the course weblog:

http://emotion4fiction.wordpress.com/

These should be completed each week by Wednesday at 23:59, so that we’ll have time to look at them.

Writing: Even though you are submitting your journal entries on the blog, I still expect you to follow the conventions of “proper English.” In other words, I do not expect to receive any journals containing “u no” or text messaging symbols. I believe you understand, right? ;-)

The purpose of the journals is to record your own responses to topics discussed in class, to the emotional content in the fiction that we will read, to your own experiences with works of fiction that have affected you, etc. This is a very informal assignment and is meant mainly to get you thinking about your own attitudes and beliefs about the subject. You may want to print out your journal for the week, so that you can refer to it during our class sessions, since it is possible/likely that we will discuss these in class.

Please be aware that it is not likely that I will respond to the journals that you post. It is more likely that I will respond during our class discussions.

A Few Tips for Writing Your Papers

(Humbly submitted by H. Sklar)

On Quotation

Try to avoid excessive quotation. Use quotes to emphasize particular points; otherwise, try to paraphrase. I want to hear your voice!

Try to avoid ending paragraphs with quotations. When you cite someone else’s words, explain what those words say in the context of your argument.

On Developing a Clear Thesis

Try to narrow the focus of your essay. In a short essay, don’t try to say too much or deal with all possible issues. Decide what’s most important and then write a clear opening paragraph or two, in which you clearly state what you will be trying to prove.

On Simplifying Your Sentence Structure

As their material gets more complex, writers sometimes write overly complex sentences. Try to avoid sentences that are so long, or so parenthetical, that they distract from your point. Write sentences that clearly and directly state the point you are trying to make.

General Grading Rubric for Papers

Clear presentation of the author’s argument (Paper #1) or the story’s emotional content (Paper #2).

Clear development of your own position

Originality of your own position (This doesn’t mean that you have said something no one else has said before, but that you don’t state the obvious. In other words, I’m looking for evidence that you have tried to explore or “discover” the material in your own way.)